{"id":10420,"date":"2024-04-09T10:13:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T17:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/?p=10420"},"modified":"2024-04-09T10:13:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T17:13:33","slug":"how-has-the-pandemic-impacted-speech-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/how-has-the-pandemic-impacted-speech-development\/","title":{"rendered":"How Has the Pandemic Impacted Speech Development?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The pandemic didn\u2019t make being a kid easy. While online school, no play dates and staying home weren\u2019t ideal, it turns out that these preventative measures to slow the spread of COVID also had a serious impact on children\u2019s speech skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence shows that new speech disorder diagnoses more than doubled<\/a> during the pandemic, with 1.5 million children ages zero to 12 receiving a diagnosis in 2022 compared to an average of 570,000 in 2018\/2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following factors may have contributed to speech development delays in children during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Limited Social Interaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speech development in early childhood relies heavily on exposure to a rich language environment and social interactions, but restrictions imposed during the pandemic, such as social distancing measures and school closures, significantly limited face-to-face communication for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With reduced access to peers, teachers and other adults, children experienced fewer opportunities for conversation, language modeling and engaging in interactive play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result? These children may struggle to start or hold a conversation, understand the meaning of words or take turns during games or while talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increased Screen Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kids learn best in a multisensory environment, where they can touch, hear, see and taste. With online school, kids can\u2019t use all their senses to learn. For example, being taught via a screen may prevent children from picking up on the nonverbal cues, facial expressions and body language that contribute to language acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, a lack of childcare and working from home led to the increased use of tablets and TV by kids, which can have a detrimental effect on their speech and language. A systemic review of 48 studies determined that more screen time was associated with lower language skills<\/a> in children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mask Wearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There isn\u2019t much evidence to support the idea that masks delay speech development in kids. But for children with hearing loss, it\u2019s another story. Masks can dampen sounds, making it hard to distinguish between similar ones, like \u201ct\u201d or \u201cd,\u201d which can impact a child\u2019s speech development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Parents Can Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To nurture your child\u2019s speech skills, try these tips at home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n